I know a few (very few) writers who say they don’t read much.
Hello!?
As you read compelling sales pieces and literature, you learn to discern what it is about them that keeps you enthralled. I cannot figure out how anyone can become an exemplary writer without being a voracious reader. That’s like presuming you can become a professional brain surgeon by opening up the first cranium you see and digging inside.
Writing isn’t brain surgery. That is, your failure to write well won’t kill anyone if you do it poorly (unless, of course, you write a poorly researched recipe and recommend cyanide and arsenic when you meant to recommend cinnamon and allspice).
So if you want to write songs, study song sheets; if you want to write poems, read tons of poetry; if you want to write great literature, read lots of great literature.
When you do, something happens. You begin to absorb cadences, rhythms, unspoken rules and insights that teachers may not know to tell you about—but you’ll learn to recognize them as time goes by.
Pay attention to what captures your attention. Find out why it did, and you’ll know just that much more about how to mesmerize your readers.
Read the best. Let it wash over you and invade your DNA. At some point you’ll soak up enough to surprise yourself and think, “Did I write that?”
Indeed, you did. You and a few dozen of your favorite internalized wordsmiths…
